The United States Department of Agriculture has declared that as of June 29, 2014, inspection program personnel (IPP) are to follow new steps when FSIS starts analyzing for Salmonella and all samples collected for Escherichia coli (E. coli) O157:H7 and other Shiga toxin-producing E. coli (STEC).

• New Salmonella verification sets (HC01) in raw ground beef products will be discontinued with the exception of sets scheduled at establishments that exceeded the standard in the most recently completed sample set (i.e., Category 3). FSIS also will also discontinue collecting MT43S samples in very low volume grinding establishments. FSIS analyzed MT43S samples for E. coli O157:H7 and Salmonella.

• Raw beef samples, including import and retail samples, collected for STEC analysis will also be analyzed for Salmonella.

• No changes are being made to the raw beef sampling collection methods, sampling eligibilities, or follow-up procedures for samples that test positive for the adulterant STEC.

On June 5, 2014, FSIS announced in the Federal Register (79 FR 32436) that raw beef samples collected for routine and follow-up sampling projects for STEC also will be analyzed for Salmonella. This new approach will allow FSIS to gather baseline data to determine the prevalence of Salmonella in ground beef and trim and to gather data necessary to propose new performance standards for ground beef.